So long, booze: Starbucks ends alcohol sales

(AP) — Starbucks will stop selling beer and wine at more than 400 U.S. stores next week as it ends its "evenings" program.

The coffee chain says the "Starbucks Evenings" program in 439 company-owned stores in the U.S. will end Jan. 10. It said the program may continue in some of the nine licensed stores where it is offered, or overseas.

The program was first tested in 2010 near Starbucks' headquarters in Seattle, and was expanded as a way to drive sales beyond the morning rush. In addition to alcohol, the evening menu featured foods like bacon-wrapped dates.

Starbucks said in 2014 it planned to expand alcohol to "thousands" of stores. Now, it says it will integrate beer and wine into its higher-end retail format, such as Roastery stores.

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